Bleona
Bleona has dominated the musical world in her native Albania for the last few years, but now she’s set her sights on America.
Getting into the studio with Timbaland, her debut English single ‘Pass Out’ is out now and we talked to the woman people have called ‘The Albanian Madonna’ about her new single, her experiences with the American super producer and her plans for world domination.
Are you excited to finally be bringing your music to the UK?
Absolutely. The UK is a market that is very special, it’s the most important market in Europe so I’m really excited. I know I’ve got a lot of fans already in the UK who can’t want to get their hands on Pass Out.
I’ve already done concerts in The Albert Hall and a lot of other big places in London over the past couple of years and I really like being here. Now with my English language album, I just want to expand that to a wider range.
Your English language debut album’s out soon, what can you tell us about that?
It’s going to be a pop album with an electronic vibe like you’re used to hearing on the radio. Of course it’s going to have the European style to it, as I’m not in America to compete with American music.
I’m in America to bring the music and sense of style that I have from back home to them, especially the European style of dance, which becoming a much bigger thing in America. Also, a big thing that I wanted to bring is another voice on empowering young women all around the world to be independent and to help them have a voice. If I can do that, then this is about something much more than just hearing myself on the radio.
Do you intend to bring a little bit of Albania to American music?
What Albania has given me is the foundation of family values and a lot of other things that the country has inherited. I’m not trying to make an Albanian album though, my album is produced by American producers and we might only have only one song with a really European motivation.
That being said, I am one of the only Eastern European girls to really make it in America and I want to provide an example for others.
You don’t want to mimic the Americans, you want to add something new.
I do believe that European music is beautiful and we need to bring that over to America. I’m not going over there to sing RnB, I’m over there to do what I do best. I’m certainly not over there to be the next Katy Perry or Gaga, I’m there to be the first Bleona. That’s something I’m always very keen to establish.
You worked with Timbaland on ‘Pass Out’. What was he like to work with as he’s such a massive name?
Yes, he is. It’s not been easy though, I didn’t just fly into America, get off the plane and have the immigration officer hand me his phone number. I first really started following him five years ago when he released ‘Way I Are’. I was on tour and became obsessed with that song. After I heard it, I just instantly knew I had to go and find him and get him to produce my album. That was the dream.
Then I did a concert in 2008 for Donald Trump and he came to me and asked me my story and the first thing that came out of my mouth, unlike most other girls who ask for a penthouse in Manhattan, I asked if he could get me to Timbaland. He was like “What? You mean Justin Timberlake?” and I was like “No, Timberland! Can you find his people for me?”
Then we flew to LA, met David Foster and found Timbaland’s crew. I met him at the Grammys and the rest is history. Even then it wasn’t easy though. I said to him “I want you to produce my album” and he turned to me and went “What’s your name again. Baloney? Bologna?” followed by “Well. First of all lady, it’s not the album time, it’s singles time right now. People don’t produce albums anymore. Number two, your name isn’t Justin Timberlake, so I’ve got nothing to say to you”.
I was so disappointed, I left the show in tears and I just said “I’ll show you and you’ll regret not working with me!” I had to fly to Milan then, I had a couple of shows there and after a week at 9 o’clock in the morning,(which is already 12 am in LA time and he was in the studio already working) , and I see my phone go off with the name ‘Timbaland’ written on it. So I rush to answer it and he asked me where I was and I had to say I was in Milan, to which he says “Oh, so I tell you to go make a song for me to hear what you sound like and you run of too Milan to do some shopping?” and I’m there like “No! I have a concert, I promise, I’m coming back real soon!”.
So I fly back and do about eight songs with his other producers for him to hear how I sounded and then wait another year for use to cut the deal to work with him on the tracks. It wasn’t easy, but it was all part of the challenge. I’m enjoying the process though of getting there, because in my country I was so famous I felt like I was entitled to be on the covers of magazines. That’s just what I do.
So it was always a challenge to me to not only prove it to everyone else, but prove to myself that I’d be able to do this in a different country. After I did a couple of concerts for American audiences I realised how hard it is to make people who’ve no idea who you are dance. If you can do that, then you’re doing well.
That result gave me the confidence to say that at the end of the day that people are people. It doesn’t matter what language they speak, if you can entertain them, that’s what you need to do as an entertainer. I really enjoy the process of trying to become a fully global success.
We’ve seen you at all the biggest events in America. It must be amazing to be invited to all of them right?
It was incredible in the beginning, at my first Grammys I was sat there in the third row near Jennifer Lopez and Puff Daddy and crying and going “Oh my God, this is awesome!” Now it’s different, it’s not enough for me to sit in the third row, now I need to be onstage. I need that. After these people have become your friends, you get the urge for more and more. You realise that truly there’s no limit to what you can achieve.
So, after America, where else is there?
My mother always says that she wants this to happen for me, but not this fast as next you’ll be wanting to go to the moon and we’ll have this whole problem again. She wants to slow me down a little bit. For me it’s all about the process of achieving new things and reaching a higher level.
Your new single in America ‘Without You’ is currently being remixed by some really big DJs over there. Are you excited to hear the results?
Yes, it gives me a perspective, that’s actually one of the songs I wrote in the album. I was in a really dark, emotional point when I wrote that, the song just poured out of my heart. It’s impressive now to hear different DJs are making totally different version of not only the song, but my vocal. It lets me see all the different ways to do a song. It gives you a sense of diversity and how subjective taste and art really is.
So you’re off to Russia next, but what else is coming up for you?
I have a couple of shows coming up there, ‘Without You’ is really taking off in America and I’m going to perform at the Ultra Music Festival in Miami and then I’m at the White Party, which is the biggest gay music festival out there.
I love playing for gay crowds, they’re all about the fabulous side of dance music and I always look forward to that crowd as I know all of us are going to have a blast. I can guarantee that I’ll do the best show they are yet to see there, as I couldn’t stand for anyone else to have done a better show than me!
I intend to do go even bigger than what Gaga, Ke$ha and Mary J Blige did at this party. So it’s a big goal for me to say that, but we’ll just have to see how it goes on March 30th.
Bleona’s new single ‘Pass Out’ is available now on iTunes